Secrets We Keep
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Emma finds a secret hidden in Henry's book, one that will bring her parents together...all three of them.


Prompted to me by loboselinaistrash: Can I have some red Snowing/ mama ruby s2 curse broke 4. "I should have told you a long time ago."?

* * *

Ruby set her purse down and let out a sigh. Another night alone. She had considered Granny's offer, about moving into the loft at the inn, but it was small enough. They were getting along better now that the curse was broken, but she didn't want to rock the boat. They butted heads enough at the diner, all friendly and she hoped to keep it that way.

Her apartment was small, just enough room for one. The way she felt she was destined to be.

Just as she was about to start making some ramen, she heard a knock on her door. Raising an eyebrow, she walked over and opened it, finding Emma on the other side. Her heart skipped a beat, as it always did since she gained her memories back. She had never even gotten to see Emma as a baby, but somehow she had turned out exactly as she pictured. A beautiful blend of Snow and David. Sometimes she wondered if she was imagining things when she saw a bit of her in there as well.

They hadn't spoken much since Emma and Snow got back from the Enchanted Forest. While her reunion with Snow and David had been sweet, they now remembered what she did to them. They were hurt and she couldn't blame them. From the look on Emma's face, she wondered if they had told her about things.

"Emma, hey," Ruby gave her a small smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I finally sat down and read the book, all of it." Emma pushed passed her and walked into the loft. "My parents had told me that the three of you were once in a relationship, but that you ended things."

Ruby bit her lip. "It's complicated…"

"I read the book, I know what happens."

Emma flipped forward to the page where it showed Ruby and Blue together. Ruby flinched at the memory of that night. She had gone out to fetch some chocolate for Snow, her pregnancy cravings were growing. Blue had confronted her, telling her of a vision she had. If Ruby stuck around, she would inevitably hurt Emma in wolf form. It would be an accident, but it could lead to the princess' death. She told Ruby that for the sake of the baby, she had to end things with Snow and David. Ruby had hesitated, sure there was a way to stop it from coming true.

Blue reminded her that she had killed before. And besides, every vision came true, even if the ending was altered a bit.

So, she had done the hardest thing ever and packed her bags that night. She told Snow and David it was for the best, that it was for their own good and it had nothing to do with anything they'd done. They hadn't believed her, they had been so hurt. She couldn't blame them, her own heart was broken.

"She lied to you," Emma said, interrupting her thoughts.

Ruby tilted her head. "What?"

"She didn't have that vision, she lied to break you up with Snow and David."

She put the book into Ruby's hands and the latter flipped the page. Sure enough, on the next one was Blue consulting with another fairy, telling her that the deed was done. The kingdom was "pure" once more due to her lie, polyamory wasn't acceptable and it was the one way to get rid of it.

Ruby felt like she was going to be sick. Her heart began to race and it took everything she had not to tear the book to shreds. Slowly, she placed it down and began to pace the room. Everything she had believed, was a lie. It wasn't the first time, Granny had done the same with her, her entire life. Another person she trusted, someone supposed to be the good guy, had lied to her. At least Granny's had been for her own good.

This was malicious.

"I can't believe this," she said. "How could she do this?"

"I've been wondering why you all have trusted her for a while," Emma said. "Between her lying about the wardrobe and now this…I don't think she's exactly the hero we pictured."

Ruby turned back to face Emma. "You have to understand why I did this…I had to protect you…Emma, you weren't born yet, but I had to give you…"

"My best chance." Emma softly smiled. "I know. Snow and I talked about it in the nursery. She and David gave me up so I could have it, you did the same. You wanted to keep me safe, you didn't know."

"I should've told you a long time ago, about everything. I just knew all the issues you had with abandonment…"

"It doesn't matter. I'm trying to build a relationship with David, I already have one with Snow…kind of, it's not the same anymore since the curse broke. We had one too…but it can be different. I want it to be."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad."

"The question is, when are you going to tell them?"

Her relief quickly drained. "Emma…."

"They're hurt, but it'll all make sense," she said.

"It doesn't matter. I left them, I didn't even tell them why or give them a chance to react….I just walked away."

Emma tilted her head. "You know, Henry's dad left me. He didn't tell me why, I'll probably never know." She bit her lip. "It hurt, a lot. But I still love him, I never stopped. And if he came back and had a good explanation for everything…who knows? I think I just may be able to forgive him."

"Emma…"

"You'd be surprised what people can forgive. Trust me." She looked from the book to Ruby. "Henry said you can borrow it."

With that, she walked out the door, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts.

* * *

Emma and Ruby continued to bond over the next few weeks, with Snow and David having no idea. Emma knew that it had to be Ruby who told them about what happened, as far as they knew she was just hanging out with her friends. Ruby didn't seem anywhere closer to building up the courage to tell them.

One evening, the two were sitting in a middle booth at Granny's, enjoying grilled cheese and onion rings, chatting. It was hard for Ruby to hear about all of the things Emma had been through. There were some things that her daughter obviously didn't think were a big deal, like sleeping in her car or dumpster diving. She knew that if Emma was opening up like that to David and Snow, they had to be just as worried as she was.

"You bitch!" A sudden voice interrupted their conversation and they spun around, finding Snow standing in the doorway of the diner, David beside her.

Ruby's heart skipped a beat, worried that Snow was about to throw down with her. To her surprise, Snow stormed past them and to a table near the back. Emma followed her mother's path and realized she was heading straight towards Blue. She pulled her up by the collar, anger written on her face. It was still a new sight for her. A part of her was still used to Mary Margaret, the meek school teacher. She was long gone. The princess turned bandit was in her place and she was not someone you wanted to mess with. David chased after his wife, pulling her off of the fairy.

"Snow, I want to kill her just as much as you do, but it won't do much good," he said.

Snow shook her head, her body trembling. Blue looked terrified for the first time in her life and took a tiny step back. "First, you lie to us about the wardrobe! I missed out on 28 years of my daughter's life, partially due to you! Now, I find out that you scared my wife off, you lied to her!"

Ruby's eyes widened and she looked over at Emma, who shook her head. "I didn't, I swear."

David put an arm around his wife, glaring at Blue. "Why would you do this to us? To Ruby? To our family? We thought we could trust you."

Blue sighed, shaking her head, looking over at Snow. "You are a princess, Snow. You know the expectations that come from that. There is a king and a queen, that is it."

"You know that David isn't royal, yet you had no issue with him being a prince," Snow said.

"That was bad enough. We can't put up with…with whatever the hell it was you three were."

"We were in love," David told her. "You ruined everything, and for what? Your perceived ideas about how our lives should be? Here's a bit of a newsflash for you, you may be head of the fairies, but you are not in charge of anyone else."

Blue shook her head. "I'm doing what's best for the kingdom."

"No, you're doing what's best in your mind, however closed it is."

Blue looked around, everyone was staring and no one looked too happy with her. She was being called out on her shit in front of practically the entire town. Granny walked over, wiping her hands on a dish rag.

"There's the door," she said, waving a hand in the direction of it. "Don't let it hit your ass on your way out." She watched as Blue huffed and stormed out the door before turning to Ruby, David and Snow. "You three, breakroom."

Ruby bit her lip. "Granny…"

"Red, go. Now. You all know you have a lot to discuss. I'll keep an eye on Emma, make sure she doesn't burn the place down."

"Hey!" Emma exclaimed. "I'm 29."

"Yes, and the last time you were here, I nearly lost my kitchen." She put an arm around her great-granddaughter, leading her off.

Ruby looked at Snow and David, shifting from foot to foot. After a few beats of silence, she lead them to the break room, shutting the door behind them.

"How'd you find out?" She whispered.

"Henry let it slip," David said. "You know he knows all our stories, probably better than we do."

"I was going to tell you. I just…I was scared."

"You left us," Snow spoke up, her voice soft and broken. It was quite the contrast from how she screamed at Blue. "You walked away, you let her get inside your head."

"I was trying to what was best for Emma," Ruby said. "I was scared, it wasn't like I hadn't killed before. What I did to my mother…it has stuck with me ever since. If I hurt Emma, I don't think I could live with myself."

"You don't think I could've helped you? You…you don't think we could've gotten to the bottom of it all? You really didn't believe in us?"

"I did believe in you!" Ruby exclaimed, the tears gathering in her eyes. She took a deep breath, her voice cracking when she spoke again. "I just didn't believe in me."

David rubbed the back of his neck. "I can see why you did what you did. It still hurts, but I get it. Why didn't you tell us when you found out? Why wait?"

"I knew I hurt you two, I wasn't sure how much it would matter. At the end of the day, I left." She shrugged. "I didn't know if you could forgive me. I already thought that you wouldn't, but if it was confirmed…well that'd hurt worse."

David and Snow were quiet for another moment, looking from each other and back at Ruby. They remembered every kiss, every time they made love. Their wedding day, or days really. Every single happy moment and every victory they shared. They remembered the day she left. Snow cried for weeks and David tried to be the strong one, but would break down whenever he was alone.

It hurt to lose her, it hurt even more to get their memories back and have them hit them like a ton of bricks. They hadn't even known why and now they did. That stupid fairy had ruined their happiness for so long.

Could they stand to let her do it for another minute?

Snow noticed something hanging between Ruby's tank and flannel top. She stepped forward and pulled out the chain, finding the ruby ring she had given her on their wedding day. It had once belonged to Eva, just as Snow's ring had to Ruth's. She looked up at her, tears in her eyes.

"You still have this?"

Ruby slowly nodded. "I never let it go."

David softly smiled, walking closer to the women. "We're not going to work this out in one afternoon…but we can…in time."

Snow nodded. "David's right."

"To start…you could start crashing on our couch."

"That couch is uncomfortable," Ruby mumbled, remembering it from the few times she visited "Mary Margaret's" loft during the curse.

"We'll get an air mattress then. "

"This is really what you want?"

Snow rubbed her arm. "Rubes, all we've ever wanted is you. We never stopped loving you and we never will. We found our way once, we can again."


End file.
